My Best Birthday Present (ever!)

[trusty220]

I will let the pictures speak for themselves, but suffice to say that this is the best present anybody’s ever given to me! For the uninitiated all I can say is that it’s a Trusty Roller; I knew of one complete one in the Motor Roller Collection at Dartford, but that has now closed and it’s exhibits’ whereabouts are unknown. There is half of one in Suffolk, but at present this is the only known complete Trusty Roller in existence.
I will put a section in the “Projects” section when I start the restoration, but the priority is to get the engine running properly. At present it seems to run on Excess Fuel only, so I have a very steep learning curve to ascend.
Do I restore it or rub it over with an oily rag?
Oh, and before you ask, it was Mrs. Geoff who did the deal; who else?

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[vhgmcbuddy]

I can see why your pleased with the present, lucky chap. Looks good now in working trim, I would be tempted to settle for the oily rag. But end of day it’s up to you. Will follow the progress.

[joegrgraham]

You are a very lucky boy!.
As for the finish, normally I would say leave it alone, just oily rag, but given the rarity I think there is a good case for a factory finish restoration.
Good luck with it, looking forward to seeing updates.
Joe.

[dave]

Nice one mate. I noticed that you left it till President Charlie
was at Dorset before the announcement was made. Just to give you breathing
space before the insults start to fly.
I look forward to seeing it fully restored in the near future.
Dave.

[trusty220]

I was at Dorset on Thursday and took the new club flags down for Charlie. Plenty of banter was swapped (as usual!) and met a few members as well. I must say that Charlie has done a cracking job with his marquee and the tea flowed very freely. To see the whole show in a day is very tiring and almost impossible, but I think we did it.

I’m having a breather at present, but rest assured I will start to tinker before the end of the Bank Holiday! First job will be to take the injector pump apart to see if that’s why it doesn’t run properly. Fingers crossed, everyone!

[vhgmcbuddy]

You need to start playing cricket now Geoff

Oily rag job for me & General service

[will-haggle]

The other day we had a character come round here, he was obviously “working” the area. He introduced himself as The Chair, which I thought was a bit odd. He had a Transit with a trailer and on the trailer was a very old diesel roller. Said he could do our drive for £400, I said no, but he was persistent, eventually he would do it for a Fiver! If you see this unsavoury person with a midland accent send him packing. It seems he’s now moved his operation to Lincolnshire….

[stevewoollas]

Congratulations Geoff. Very kind of the good Lady Ravenhall to treat you so kindly.
By comparison all I got for my birthday was a bottle of Tizer and an electric bill to pay!
I would go with the oily rag resto and safety check and then you can use the roller whilst a full assessment into a factory finish restoration is considered, however, entirely up to you.
Let me know when the roller is available in Lincolnshire as the bumps in the lawn need attending to.
Regards–Steve

[charlie]

Oily rag for now I think. I have been told that the Museum of Internal Fire have Petter engine manuals, might be worth enquiring.

[trusty220]

Thanks for that, Charlie, but I’ve already bought some manuals off the auction site. I must say that Petter manuals are very comprehensive and show all sorts of necessary things like Spill Timing, something that is absolutely necessary when you’re messing with these old diesels.

The weather got in the way last weekend so I’m hoping to have a go at it this weekend. I will make a fresh posting in the “Projects” section about how to go about dismantling and timing it up again.

Now, where did I put that spare Tarmac……..?

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